• For more information about the Friends of the Library group, membership details or to make a donation, call the library at 361-485-3302.

COST OF BOOKS:

• Hardbacks - $1

• Paperbacks - 50 cents

• Smaller books - 10-25 cents

• Movies, CDs, audio books, etc. - $1-$3

DON'T FORGET

All the books left at the sale Saturday are half-price. The Friends of the Library will also offer the $1 book bag sale: Fill a Friends of the Library bag with all the books you want and pay a buck. The bags cost $5.

Sometimes, secondhand books are the best finds.

For Korie Krohn, 35, a leisurely stroll between the aisles of donated books during the Friends of the Library Book Sale is often rewarded by a unique find.

"It's like a walk down memory lane," she said. "You never know what you'll find."

Krohn, of Victoria, who works in the oil field as a sales representative, is a member of the Friends of the Library group and a bibliophile. She finds the library a sanctuary compared to the loud noise of industrial equipment and smell of gas and oil production.

Each time she hears about the book sale - hosted three times a year - she's eager to skim through the spines of the thousands of books neatly arranged by genre on tables, shelves and sometimes under tables if there is no more room.

But there is more than books available at the sale, she said.

"People like to share what they have with us," she said. "I've seen sheet music, 45s, home-schooling books, cookbooks and genealogy books for sale before."

All the items sold are donations collected before the sale and sold during the weeklong event to raise money for the Victoria Public Library, Krohn said. Funds support the library programs for young children, teens and adults as well as purchase furniture for reading areas.

As summer rounds the corner and school comes to an end, students will start filing through the library doors to participate in the summer reading programs, said Dayna Williams-Capone, director of the library.

Money raised will cover costs for materials and prizes for the programs, she said, which play an important part in a student's education.

"Children who keep reading through summer can keep up their level of reading and continue to improve on it," Williams-Capone, 47, said.

The summer programs also help students develop a habit and level of comfort with using the library, she said.

Depending on the success of the sale, the Friends of the Library group will raise anywhere between $7,000 to $8,000 or more.

"They do very well for the library," the director said. "The library really benefits from the sale."

Krohn is happy to help students build the same relationship with books that she has.

"It's great to pass books along that you've read and share them with others," she said. "They bring them back the next time for someone else to buy and read."